Just sign here... (Concordant setting)

[gridlore]

Getting away from the blimps for a second, I was thinking about making indentured servitude part of the setting.

Historically, this was a common way for those too poor to pay the cost of passage to the New World to make the trip. A formal agreement for a period of time where the indentured person worked for the family that paid his/her way over. I could see this becoming big as we move into space.

It would of course be tightly regulated (and an entire arm of the legal profession would spring up around it) but it could make for some fun plot points.

Any opinions?

Comments

[kengr]

Unless you've got a *very* uniform legal system, the way contract language is interpreted on different worlds may lead to some surprises.

And seemingly minor differences in language could lead to really different results.

Silly example is the contract in "Pirates of Penzance", where rather than "until the age of 21" it says "until he has his 21st birthday". Normally not a problem, unless you were born on Feb 29th. :-)

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Well, if we assume that the Concordant has something akin to the "interstate commerce" clause, it could be regulated at the interstellar level, and subject to Concordant courts, not the local versions.

Also note that this would primarily be an issue on colonial worlds, which don't have full self-rule.

[kengr]

That's "Concordat" (noun) as opposed to concordant which is an adverb or adjective, I forget which. :-)

But I still forsee people, especially on more "advanced" worlds "deliberately misusing" such things. With or without the complicity of the servant.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Oh, that certainly will happen, but for the most part it will be an accepted and regular part of society.